Grammar II (Unit 1 - Introduction to SFG)

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Systemic FunctionalGrammar



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Systemic Functional Grammar (or Systemic Functional Linguistics)

� 1960s ± Michael Halliday

� Social semiotic approach to

language.� ³systemic´ = a network of

systems, or interrelated sets of

options for making meanings.




³formal grammar´ = focuses on

compositional semantics, syntax andword classes.

opposed to

³functional grammar´ = contextualized

practical uses to which language is

put.




� The choices the grammar

makes available to speakersand writers.

� Speaker¶s and writer¶s

INTENTIONS� LANGUAGE

semantics

phonology

lexicogrammar




Grammar Approaches

� Collection of rules (FORMAL)

� Semantic system

(FUNCTIONAL)

SFL = analysis of authentic

products of social interaction,within a particular social andcultural context.




Application of SFL

³T o understand the

quality of texts: why a

text mean what it does,

and why it is valued as it

is´ (Michael Halliday, 1992)




Social semiotics

³A system of meanings that constitutes

the µreality¶ of the culture.´

(Halliday, 1978: 123).

To interpret language within a

soc i oc ultural context .




Systemic Functional Grammar

Functional in three senses:

- Grammar is designed to explain

how language is used.- Fundamental components of meaning

are functional components.

- Each element of language is explainedby making reference to its function in the

global linguistic system.




³H ow are these meanings

expressed?´ A functional grammar works the

other way round, in that a

language is interpreted as asystem of meanings

accompanied by the forms

through which those meanings

are expressed.




Forms of language

As a means to an

end , rather than as the end

in themselves.




Fundamental concepts in

systemic functional grammar � rank = the scale of grammatical

units, i.e., a clause complex is

composed of one or more clauses.� constituency = the structural

organization of the clause and to

how clauses are composed of several parts.




� system = a collection of two or more opposed options, from which

one (and only one) can bechosen.

S y stemi c theory i s a theory of meani ng as c hoi c e, lang uag e as a net work of opti ons that arei nterrelated.




The Text

A text is µwhat is meant ¶.

TEXT can be defined as actualized

meaning potential (alwaysunderstood within the situation in

which it is framed and the most

logical and natural unit inside thetext is the clause).




Systemic Functional Grammar isintended to analyze text, any text,written or spoken, in modernEnglish.

Halliday and Hasan (1976: 1):

³The word text is used in linguistics torefer to any passage, spoken or

written, of whatever length, that doesform a unified wholeunified whole.´ (from aproverb to a whole play )




A text is a unit of language inuse. It is not a grammatical unit,

such as a clause, and it is notdefined by its size. A text has tobe understood as a semantic

unit, i.e., as a unit of meaningand not as a formal unit: ³A text

does not consist of sentences; it is

realized by, or encoded in,sentences.

(Halliday & Hasan, 1976: 2).




Reasons to analyze a text

To understand the relationshipbetween:

* language and culture.* language and situation.

For that, we have tounderstand the text and itsmeaning.




Study of the system of language.

To understand better the text or

discourse - what people say,write, listen or read.




Systemic Functional Grammar

(SFG)

I t interprets language as

interrelated sets of options for making meaning and seeks to provide a clear relationship

between f u nc ti ons and

g rammati c al sy stems(Halliday, 1994).




TEXT

A text, spoken or written, from a

functional point of view, is:

³ A harmonious collection of meaning

appropriate to its context´

(Butt, et al., 2000).




CONTEXT

Two perspectives

(Droga & Humphrey, 2002):

Context of culture Context of situation

The broad sociocultural

environment, which

includes ideology, social

conventions and

institutions.

The specific situations

within the sociocultural

environment.




CONTEXT (Three aspects)

CONTEXT

FIELD TENOR MODE




� Field refers to what is to be

talked or written about.� Tenor is the relationship

between the speaker and

listener or the writer andreader.

� Mode refers to the channelof communication.




SEMIOTICS

Semiotics, also called semiotic

studies or (in the Saussurean

tradition) semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis),

indication, designation, likeness,

analogy, metaphor, symbolism,analogy, metaphor, symbolism,signification, and communication.




SEMIOTICS: three branches

� Semantics: Relation betweensigns and the things to which theyrefer; their denotata, or meaning.

� Syntactics: Relations amongsigns in formal structures.

� Pragmatics: Relation betweensigns and the effects they have onthe people who use them.




PRAGMATICSPragmatics is a subfield of linguistics

which studies the ways in which context

contributes to meaning.

The transmission of meaning dependsnot only on the linguistic knowledge (e.g.

grammar, lexicon etc.) of the speaker

and listener, but also on the context of the utterance, knowledge about the

status of those involved, the inferred

intent of the speaker , and so on.




METAFUNCTIONS

Written and spoken texts can be

examined with respect to each of

these metafunctions in register analyses:

* Ideational metafunction.

* Interpersonal metafunction.

* Textual metafunction.




Ideational metafunction

Divided into two: experiential and logicalmetafunctions.

The experiential metafunction organises our

experience and understanding of the world.The logical metafunction works above theexperiential. It organises our reasoning on thebasis of our experience.

The ideational metafunction relates to thef ield aspects of a text, or its subject matter and context of use.




Interpersonal metafunction

The interpersonal metafunction

relates to a text's aspects of tenor or

interactivity.Tenor comprises three component

areas: the speaker /writer persona,

social distance, and relative socialstatus.




Textual metafunction

The textual metafunction relates to

mode; the internal organisation and

communicative nature of a text.This comprises textual interactivity,

spontaneity and communicative

distance.




ANALYSIS of CONTEXT

� Field: what is happening, the nature of thesocial interaction taking place: what is it thatthe participants are engaged in.

� Tenor: who is taking part; the social rolesand relationships of participant, the statusand roles of the participants

� Mode: the symbolic organization of the text,rhetorical modes (persuasive, expository,

didactic, etc); the channel of communication,such as spoken/written, monologic/dialogic,+/- visual contact, computer-mediatedcommunication/telephone/F2F, etc.




Functional grammar

(or systemic functional grammar)

For explaining how language is selected andorganised in particular ways for particular socio-cultural purposes.

In classroom contexts, functional grammar has been associated with genresgenres, which arepredictable, identifiable ways of usinglanguage.

Systemic functional grammar is useful for explaining the structuring of the clause andup, e.g. clauses, sentences, cohesion, texts,discourse etc.

Grammar II (Unit 1 - Introduction to SFG)

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